Independent analyst: Russia fears U.S. military bases in Ukraine in future

Pavel Felgenhauer, a leading independent Russian military analyst and commentator who is known for his publications critical of Russia's political and military leaders, claims that the Russian military chiefs fear that U.S. military bases may appear "somewhere in Poltava or outside Kharkiv" at some time in future.

The Russian military officers explain that Russian capital investment injected in the construction of its bases in the north loses its significance if Ukraine departs Russia, Felgenhauer told Ukrainian analytical portal apostrophe.com.ua.

"In general, Ukraine is very important. It is part of a larger, strategic perimeter. As I see it, our [Russian] military officers explain that if we lose Ukraine, all our capital investment in the construction of the bases in the north becomes no longer significant.

 Because Ukraine is heading for the West. Even if it hasn't become a NATO member state yet, it will – sooner or later. 

The United States will become a friendly state, and U.S. military bases might appear somewhere in Poltava or outside Kharkiv at some time. And our perimeter is broken. Moscow is just a stone's throw away. And this ought not to be allowed," the analyst explained the Russian military's way of thinking.